It was already late in the afternoon, and the sun hung low in the sky, painting the forest in deep orange hues.
Shadows stretched long across the terrain, and the once gentle breeze now carried the scent of warmth and wood.
Deeper within the forest, in a clearing wrapped with tall grass and scattered roots, strange pulses of light flickered from time to time.
It was like a heartbeat of flame blinking in and out of existence.
A young man was standing in the center his eyes were deep focused as his hands were outstretched.
Floating above his palm was a fireball, now the size of a baseball it was spinning slowly in place.
Its surface swirled with molten energy, with flickering reds and oranges as it danced wildly like a living creature.
The heat rippled from it, making the air distorts around him.
"Let's test its prowess," Jeff uttered with a smile.
With that, he snapped his arms back and with a throw the fireball shot forward with a low roar, it sliced through the air like a flaming comet.
Then a small explosion sounded as the fireball slammed into the thick bark of a tree just ahead, and the result was immediate.
The impact of the strike caused the trunk to cave in with explosive force. The center splintered inward as black scorch marks burst outward from the point of contact.
Flames erupted from the wound like hungry mouths, devouring the bark and sap with a crackling fury.
The fire then began to spread. It slowly crawled across the wood as if it had a mind of its own. Within seconds, the entire tree was ablaze.
Jeff, seeing the firepower, could not help but step back with both eyes wide, not in fear but in pure awe.
Smokes began to curl into the sky, as embers floated like fireflies. The glow of the burning tree lit up the surrounding area with a fierce, flickering light.
"Now that's what a real fire ball is," Jeff exhaled slowly.
Since the start of his transmigration, his fireball had never caused real damage that truly reflected the power of fire.
But now, it could burn a tree, not just scorch the bark, but set the entire thing completely ablaze.
As the tree continued to burn behind him, crackling and groaning under the weight of the flames, Jeff turned to his partner with a satisfied smile.
All his spamming and the sluggish feeling that came with mana depletion were really worth it.
"Alright, Blue. Your turn."
Blue just wobbled forward proudly, its translucent body pulsing with built-up energy.
It gave a little bounce at first and then began to glow faintly. The water inside its gel-like form started swirling rapidly as the pressure continued to build.
The once soft squirt of a water shot had changed.
"Let's go, Aqua Shot!" Jeff called out like a commander on the battlefield.
FWOOOSH!
Following the command Blue launched a high-pressure sphere of water with a loud hiss, it looks like a mini water cannon.
The projectile sliced through the air and slammed into the bark of another thick tree with a sharp, wetty cracking sound.
The impact sent a deep vibration through the trunk as the bark shattered outward.
The Aqua Shot pierced deep, leaving a gaping hole nearly the size of Jeff's fist, though it stopped just short of breaking through to the other side.
Steam hissed from the impact site as the shot's lingering pressure hissed out through the cracks.
He then walked up and ran his fingers along the hole, nodding with approval.
"Damn blue, you have become much stronger than before," Jeff said in a compliment.
Now that they have become stronger, he was now much more confident to explore without being afraid.
Because this time, he had set his eyes on the very core of this mountains, since the closer you are to the core the higher the chances of meeting a strong beast.
Currently, he was in the outer part of the area. There were four zones in the Crucible Gauntlet: outer, middle, inner, and core.
With his current cultivation level, the outer zone was his best chance of survival. But now that his fireball had improved so much, he felt confident enough to go deeper.
If he was right, the outer zone was filled with low-grade beasts. After entering the middle zone, you would start to encounter real awakened beasts.
The area was flooded with First Core Beasts at the first level, which was the weakest stage among awakened creatures.
Their bodies had only just begun to store mana, making them stronger than wild animals but still lacking refined control or higher intelligence.
Despite their low level, they were dangerous in numbers and could easily overwhelm an unprepared awakener.
Beasts are ranked by Core Levels the higher the core number, the stronger and more evolved the beast.
Within each core rank, beasts progress through internal tiers: Level 1 to Level 3.
These internal levels represent the beast's growth and mastery over its core.
Once a beast reaches and completes Level 3, it becomes eligible to advance to the next core rank, evolving from a First Core Beast into a Second Core Beast, and so on.
After entering the middle zone, it will be filled with first core beast at the 2nd and 3rd level. Thier are even some chances that a second core beast might appear.
For the inner zone it will be flooded by second core beast which is very dangerous since even the geniuses will have trouble entering the core level.
The core level is a very hard one since it includes third core beast that is already as powerful as an elite awakener.
Elite Awakeners were those who had already reached the final stage of Mana Gathering, which came just before the next stage known as Mana Awakening.
After crossing the small mountain and rivers over the span of one day, he and Blue were coordinating closely with each other.
Whenever a beast appeared out of nowhere, their skills that were compounded to an unimaginable number made the magic inflicted by their attacks are no joke.
As they kept running toward the inner zone, a bird with brown feathers appeared. It had a staggering size of seven feet.
As it fluttered its wings downward, it created a small air barrier on its beak aimed directly at them. Seeing this, he stopped in his tracks and dashed back.
He fired a fireball toward the rushing beast and as it hit the beak it did not burn the creature, but only explodes upon impact.
Its speed did not increase, and seeing that the attack was of no use, he quickly ducked and rolled as its sharp claws brushed over his hair.
As he rolled, Blue did not just stand there. It jumped from his shoulder and was now on the air and shot the beast with its skill, Aqua Shot.
The Aqua Shot had become more powerful and more tangible in size. Blue adjusted the shot, shaping the tip as sharp as a needle before firing it out.
With a flap of its wings, it evaporated the water blade that was aimed at it. With a sharp cry, the flying beast then rushed toward Blue.
Seeing this, Blue's eyes went wide. It wanted to escape in mid-air, but it could not, since it did not have any means of movement while airborne.
"Blood Reversal!" Jeff yelled aloud.
The flying beast who was flying toward Blue suddenly stopped just inches away. Its beak glared menacingly, while Jeff's face was drenched in sweat from the heavy toll.
This was the result of what he had practiced and learned after coming all this way. Blood Reversal could help him stop strong beasts, even if only for a moment, just to buy time.
But if it were a lower beast, Blood Reversal would work wonders, their are even some chances it can kill.
However, since the beast in front of him was very strong, he was struggling hard to maintain it, even for just a second.
"Blue, use Aqua Shot," he shouted anxiously.
At the same time, he gathered mana in his hand, and with that, he released it, filled with firepower.
Two attacks were coming. The flying beast, which had been frozen for over two seconds, was too late to dodge.
Even defending was impossible in time. A sharp water blade struck its chest, and the exploding fireball hurled into its back, making it scream in pain.
Jeff then spammed his fireball while Blue unleashed a barrage of Aqua Shots as they circled the beast.
The combination of fire and water did not contradict each other. Instead, they worked together, dealing double the damage to the stupid bird.
After the endless barrage of attacks, it let out a final yelp before collapsing dead. Seeing that it was finally over, Jeff dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.
"Dang, killing this flying beast is really hard," as he swiped a sweat.
This was the first time he had actually dealt a First Core Beast at the first level. He could not help but imagine what it would be like if he ever encountered a second-level beast.
Since what he had fought were only low-level beasts back there, so they were not even considered true Core Beasts, as they had not formed a core yet.
Blue did not reply and simply rolled toward him like a deflated balloon, drained from using too much mana.
"Well, since we've been working hard this time, why don't we give ourselves some rewards, right Blue?" he said with a smile.
Hearing the word 'food,' it puffed up with air, making its body jiggle with happiness.
"Haha, you really are a little bastard."
With that, the two carried the beast and filled their stomachs. And of course, it also increased their stats.